April 4, 2014

Living Your Life Outside of Alpha Phi

Alpha Phi is an amazing organization and I am blessed to be a part of it, but I was not always an Alpha Phi. Once upon a time, I was just a student living an average college life. After Bid Day, I became a member of the Greek community, which automatically introduced me to new people and a new culture. I quickly became involved and my personal planner was consumed with solely Greek events. It was then I began to realize I needed to find a better way to balance my Alpha Phi life and other activities. Ultimately, I needed to balance my non-Greek and Greek relationships. I realized I was caught up in the novelty of joining a sorority and had somewhat neglected my previous friendships. I also began to realize that although Alpha Phi was important to me, I wanted to continue to embrace my life outside of my chapter as well. Making time for my friends outside of Alpha Phi became easier as I learned to better stabilize my social calendar. I involved myself in other organizations and made an effort to sustain my friendships while still maintaining my Alpha Phi relationships. I also began to find ways to intertwine Alpha Phi with other areas of my life. I began to invite my non-Greek friends to Alpha Phi events to introduce them to my sisters and to expose them to Greek life. My two best friends are non-Greek so it was important to me that they understood my sorority involvement. I have brought my two best friends to Red Dress Gala the past three years. Not only do they get to experience a little part of Alpha Phi; it has now become an event they really look forward to!Alpha Phi is a huge part of my life, and it is also important to me that I continue growing as an individual outside of our sisterhood as well. I have joined other clubs and organizations to meet new people and connect me to campus. I have also been able to use my connections with other organizations to create joint service opportunities and events for my chapter. Being in Alpha Phi doesn’t mean you have to only participate in Alpha Phi. Branch out to other organizations and sustain all of your various friendships--not just those in Alpha Phi.Tara Bresette is a collegiate member at Kent State (Beta Omega). Learn more about Tara by clicking here.